Behind The Mask
by Chromium Kisses
Summary: Tifa recently hired an old friend to help out at Seventh Heaven, but something strange happens in the process.  Can she figure out what's going on before her friend has a mental breakdown?  And why is Yuffie acting so weird?
1. Shenanigans

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy or any of it's characters. I do however, own Aubrey and this plot (if you'd call it a plot).

Anyway, on with the story.

Behind the Mask

Work was rough on Aubrey Rutherford that day. She had dealt with five or six ungrateful costumers and now some idiot was making a terrible racket in the bar. Her boss, Tifa, looked absolutely pissed as the once heated argument escalated into an all out fist fight.

"Oh, great!" Aubrey groaned.

"It's the third time this night!" Tifa yelled.

"You should have hired me as a bouncer, not a bartender." Aubrey joked.

Tifa laughed. "You wouldn't be able to throw anyone out if you wanted to."

Aubrey laughed with her. Tifa was right about her psychical abilities. She was awful when it came to fighting and probably couldn't handle a bad situation to save her life. She had been rescued by Tifa and her friends countless times. She couldn't count how many times she'd heard Cid say '_You owe me one_', but she was glad he had been there for her.

She quickly snapped out of her thoughts when a broken bottle flew her way. She managed to duck behind the bar, but not without getting her shoulder cut up a bit.

"Ow! Dammit!" She hissed.

"Aubrey! Are you okay?"

She looked up to see Tifa hovering over her, a worried look etched into her features.

"Yeah. I'll be fine." She tilted her head to the side. "Who threw that?"

"The same jerk that was hassling you earlier."

"That blond idiot?"

"Yep. Don't worry, I'll throw him out."

"Thanks Tifa."

"No problem."

Tifa kicked the guy out, along with his buddies but not before beating the hell out of them first. After this spat she declared the bar closed and cleared everyone out for the night. Aubrey was just about to do dishes when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"What happened?" A female voice asked.

"Oh, hey Yuffie." Aubrey answered. "Some idiot threw a bottle at me."

"That jerk! I'll kill him!" Yuffie yelled.

"Don't worry about it. Tifa already got him."

Yuffie just shook her head and pulled Aubrey to a chair, forcing her to sit down.

"Stay here. I'm going to go borrow some bandages." She ordered.

"Borrow?" Before Aubrey could ask Yuffie what she meant by 'borrowing' she was already up the stairs. She merely sighed and waited for her thieving friend.

Soon after she was all bandaged and clean the small bartender decided that it'd be a good idea to get home.

"You gonna be okay by yourself?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah. I'll manage." Aubrey smiled, then left soon after.

Walking down the streets slowly she made her way to the small apartment she shared with her brother, Lorne. They'd moved out together after their parents had finally had enough of their 'shenanigans'. It was for the best anyway.


	2. Hospital Trips

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy or any of it's characters. I do however, own Aubrey and this plot (if you'd call it a plot).

Anyway, on with the story.

Chapter Two: Hospitals

Aubrey sighed and unlocked her apartment door. She was tired, sore, and exhausted after the long night. Since it was a weekend Seventh Heaven was packed with a rough crowd. Her wounded shoulder was proof of that. After she turned on the lights she hung up her coat on the rack by the door. Brushing her messy black hair out of her face she stepped down the hallway, but immediately froze at the sight before her.

Lorne, her beloved brother lay in the middle of the hallway unconscious. He was horribly pale, a complete opposite of his normally tanned skin. His lips were almost blue and his eyes were shut tightly. He seemed to be in pain and thrashed around a bit, crying out for help.

"Lorne!" She ran to his side, holding his head in her lap with one hand and grabbing her phone with another. She quickly dialed the nearest hospital, hoping they had an available ambulance. After getting off the phone she checked his conditions.

_'He's cold, but at least his heart is still beating. His breathing seems okay, but I don't want to take chances. Why is he in so much pain?'_ She thought.

Aubrey gasped a bit when she noticed a gunshot wound to his stomach.

"What the hell?"

_'Why would someone shoot my brother? He's the most gentle person in the world.' _ Aubrey slowly managed to get the bullet out and apply pressure to the wound. _'I'm going to need some help finding out who did this. But who?'_

She remembered going down to Tifa's after a long day once and hearing Cloud and Vincent sit there and talk about guns. Obvious male behavior but it was damn helpful now. Valentine knew a lot about guns, wielding one himself. He was the best shot she knew.

_'He'll kill me for calling him this late, but I have to do something. Hang on, Lorne. Help is on the way. I'll get the bastard that did this to you.'_

The ambulance soon arrived and her brother was on his way to the hospital. Aubrey quickly got into her SUV and followed close behind it. Flipping her phone out she found the number she was looking for and quickly dialed it. A deep voice answered her.

"Hello?"

"Vincent? It's Aubrey." She began.

"...Why are you calling me at this hour?"

Well, it could've been worse.

"My brother...he's been shot. I have the bullet, but I don't know what kind of gun it belongs to...I don't even know where to start."

"And?"

"I was hoping you could help me. Nobody knows guns better than you do. You're the first one that came to mind." Aubrey whispered.

Vincent almost sighed. He was the first one that came to mind? Why? He shrugged it off and thought for a moment. Aubrey was a nice girl, not the kind of person that should really go pulling bullets out of people's bodies.

_'It's her brother. What was she supposed to do? I owe her one for helping me out of that cave anyway.'_

A while back Vincent Valentine had gotten himself stuck in a cave during a rock slide. The entrance was blocked and he was going to dig his way out until a certain armored SUV came plowing through the rubble. She had helped him out that day, damaging her vehicle, even when she didn't need to.

"All right. I'll meet you at the hospital." Vincent muttered.

"Thank you, Vincent." Aubrey smiled.

Both individuals turned off their phones. Aubrey continued driving down the highway, hoping that her brother would be okay. She loved him too much to let him go.


End file.
